Road to Hokage
by Shenanagains69
Summary: After the 4th great ninja war Naruto returns to Konoha! (Got deleted so Im reposting it for those who have already read it I combined chapters 2 and 3 into one longer chapter) please leave a review or message me if you have any thoughts or concerns with my style or especially spelling mistakes or grammar errors. Enjoy!
1. Road to Hokage

A young ninja walked into the office of the Hokage. It was of course none other than Konoha's number one knucklehead ninja, Naruto Uzumaki. "Hey granny, how goes it?" The Hokage clenched her fist in anger but smiled none the less. She was happy to see Naruto, after everything that happened last year; Obito and Madara Uchiha along with the Akatsuki trying to resurrect the ten-tails and destroy the world.

Naruto had been away for almost a full year, coping with the deaths of his friends and trying to find his place in this world. He was just in the hidden cloud village visiting Bee and the Raikage, who gave him the perspective he needed. "Yo, you have a home, and aren't alone, fool, ya fool!" Killer Bee may have bad rhymes but he gave great advice, "Bee is right, you may be faster than me but you couldn't run home fast enough kid." _"__Did the Raikage just admit I was faster than him?" _That came as a big surprise to both Bee and Naruto, Ay prided himself as being the fastest alive. Only Tobirama and Minato surpassed him but now Naruto and Kurama could make them all eat his dust. "I guess you guys are right, but I don't know if I can face Hinata and the rest of the gang after not being able to save everyone, ya know? Neji, Akamaru, and Ten Ten, I wasn't fast enough to save them." "You cant save everyone you idiot but you did save the rest of the world, you are a hero. Anyway, I bet Sasuke is getting a head start on becoming Hokage without you there!" _"__Damn, I forgot Sasuke went back to the village straight away, he is probably a jonin by now." _Without another word, Naruto shot off like a rocket right for Konoha!


	2. Reunited at last

"Naruto, I hope you enjoyed your little vacation because now I'm going to work you to the bone you little twerp!" Tsunade spat the words at him, but Naruto saw the little smirk the sennin tried to hide. "Yeah yeah, I know but can't I see the guys first granny? It has been almost a year." Naruto stuck out his lower lip and widened his eyes trying to give the Hokage a puppy dog face to end all puppy dog faces. Not wanting to fully succumb to the stupid look Naruto had on his face Tsunade had some conditions "Fine, but you have to go see Kakashi and Gai first, and I swear if you arent in my office for assignment at 7am on the dot tomorrow you will feel my full wrath!" Naruto bowed and started to walk out, as he closed the door he looked back into the office "Granny, I think I missed you the most." Naruto said with big eyes, this made Tsunade throw a closed scroll that sat on her desk at him, but he was too fast and closed the door. She leaned back in her chair _"__It's good to have you back Naruto." _

Naruto casually walked the streets of his home towards the training ground where he and Team 7 had tried to retrieve the bells from Kakashi sensei, he figured the Copy Ninja would be there probably playing rock-paper-scissors or something else even more ridiculous with Gai as part of their "eternal rivalry". Naruto arrived to find the youthful duo doing one finger push-ups _"__Is this what me and Sauske will be like when we are older?" _Naruto laughed at the thought of him and Sauske being like Gai and Kakashi sensei. "NARUTO, the brightest burning youth in the whole village has returned!" Gai screamed, he didn't even look in Naruto's direction, or slow down his push-up pace for that matter, "Yeah it's me, how long have you guys been doing this?" asked Naruto, this time Kakashi spoke "Only about 7 hours, I think Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey is getting tired!" "The flame of youth still burns brightly in me Kakashi!" Gai said in rebuttal _"__these two are really nuts, but you gotta love them." _Naruto thought. The three talked for a few minutes like that, "It was great seeing you after so long Kakashi sensei, Gai sensei, but I got a few more people to visit and this will probably be my only day off for the rest of my life so I gotta run." Naruto had to scream as he bolted away.

Off he went, running in the direction if Ichiraku's ramen hut, he knew Iruka sensei had a big crush on the owner Teuchi's daughter Ayame so he spent a lot of time there. Naruto arrived as fast as lightning, and sure enough Iruka sat at the bar awaiting some ramen from his secret love staring at Ayame's every move entranced. "Hey Iruka sensei!" said Naruto. "Naruto! It's been a year where have you been?" Iruka said surprised to see the blonde ninja. "Been worried about me?" Naruto said jokingly. "Of course I was, you are my precious student after all!" Iruka returned the joking sentiment "I've been here and there just sorting out life, ya know? It looks like you have been busy, gone and got yourself a girlfriend have you?" Naruto was always oblivious when a girl liked him but when someone likes someone else he could tell easily. "Keep it down you knucklehead! I sort of haven't told her I liked her yet, ok? So keep your voice..." before Iruka could even finish his sentence Naruto had Ayame's attention "Hey Ayame, you know Iruka sensei has a huge crush on you, right?" Iruka began to blush, but not as much as Ayame did. "No, Naruto, I hadn't known that, but if I had I might have given him this bowl on the house." Ayame said flirtatiously. Naruto saw the bowl of miso pork ramen and his stomach growled more fiercely than even Kurama. "So Ayame, uh... would you l-l-like to go on a date sometime, with uh me?" Iruka stammered out "Of course, I'd love to Iruka" Ayame gave a cute little smile that could rival that of Hinata._"__I've never seen Iruka sensei so nervous before" _Naruto pushed the thought to the back of his mind, "So Iruka, I got you a date with this beautiful lady how about you get me some ramen, just like old times?" Naruto had a devious look in his as he said that. "Here Naruto have this bowl, I'm not really hungry." said Iruka too nervous for his date to eat. "Wow thanks Iruka sensei, you are the best!" Naruto sat and chatted about the Ninja War and the past year with Iruka for some time. "Sorry to bail Iruka sensei but I've got a lot of others to see, thanks for the ramen, I'll see you later!" Naruto said extremely fast, but before Iruka could say a word Naruto was gone "That kid will never change, and I couldn't be happier" Iruka said to no one in particular.


	3. Hinata's visit

Naruto visited Choji, Ino, Shikamaru, and Shino in no particular order and without staying too long. Next on his list was Kiba but as Naruto strolled up to the Inuzuka house he found no one home, _"__they must be out training some new pups, that usually takes a few weeks, I hope I can see Kiba soon". _Naruto only had one more person to see and that was Hinata. Naruto walked as slow as possible on his way to the Hyuga compound kicking a small stone as he went. _"__I wonder what Hinata will think of me, I couldn't save Neji. I hope Hiashi doesn't answer the door, he never did like me much." _After a few minutes he was on the doorstep to the place he least wanted to be in the world, but he had to see Hinata, he missed her so much. During the war they fought side by side along with the reanimated Minato after the jutsu was released, before Minato left he told Naruto he had a very strong and beautiful girlfriend, one that reminded him of Kushina. He was talking about Hinata, the shy beauty that Naruto had never thought of as girlfriend material before was suddenly the only thing he thought about for the past year.

Naruto knocked a few times and only had to wait a second or two before someone answered the door, the one and only Hiashi Hyuga was standing before him. "Ahhh, Naruto you have returned to the village after almost a year." "Uh, yes sir, I needed some time to myself." "Yes, well I am glad to see you in good health." _"__Who is this, it can't be Hiashi, a transformation maybe? Why is he being so nice to me, I am the nine-tails jinchuuriki?" _"Thank you sir, is Hinata around?" "Yes, she is in her room. Naruto, I know we have had our differences but I would like to start anew and put that all behind us, I may have judged you too harshly back then, and I am sorry." _"__Woah, the leader of the Hyuga clan just apologized to me, this year might be ok after all" _"There is no need to apologize, you were just afraid of Hinata being hurt by Kurama, I understand." "Who is Kurama, may I ask?" "Oh, yeah I forgot, haha that is the nine-tails' name, turns out all the tailed beasts have proper names." "I see, well Im sure you have much to discuss with Hinata, go right ahead, I'll have someone escort you to her room."

Hinata was out on the porch that was connected to her room which overlooked her mother's garden. She was lonely, she missed Naruto and the rest of her team; Hiashi had barred her from doing missions as she was to be the Hyuga heir once again, she was bored out of her mind. Looking out over the garden her mother worked so hard to create she always felt at peace, like her and Neji were watching her from the afterlife, she liked that. Suddenly there was a knock on her door, she scurried over to answer it only to find the person she missed most in the world, "NARUTO!" She ran and jumped on to him in a huge hug, realizing what she had done and what she was wearing she almost fainted in his arms. Naruto stood there in awe as Hinata backed away and hid behind the door leaving only a face for Naruto to talk to because Hinata was in a nightgown, her mothers; a brilliant lavender color with white lace around the chest area and wonderful pink and red flower petals dancing around the bottom. _"__Wow, Hinata looks, adorable, how did I miss this for so long?"_ "Hey Hinata, how've you been?" "Umm...fine Naruto, you look different." The blonde ninja had been gone so long and so far away from home he hadn't shaved since the war, so he was growing a nice burly beard. "Oh, this? Yeah I haven't had time to shave since I've been back, do you like it?" "Well, its uhh different." "Well anyways thats not why I'm here, could you maybe get dressed so I could come in and talk?" "O-o-of course, give me a minute" Hinata hurried over to her closet and pulled out the first thing she saw, her old jacket and pants from the war. "Wow, you still wear those huh?" "Oh no, I wear my jonin vest and a black v-necked shirt under it now." "Uh um, that sounds great." "Well father doesn't let me go on missions any more so I don't wear it much." "Wait, no missions? Why is that?" "I'm the heiress again, I have new duties to the family." "That bullshit, Im gonna have a serious talk with that Hiashi, keeping my Hinata cooped up in here!" _"__Oh shit, I just called her MY HINATA, I hope she didn't her that." _She did, and her face turned as red as a boiled lobster. "uhhhh ummm, Naruto, did you just say MY HINATA?" "Oh, you heard that huh? Yeah well you see, we fought together and ya know, I like kinda maybe sorta have had feelings for you for a while now..." _"__Wow I didn't want her to find out this way, shes all thats on my mind lately and thats the best I could come up with dammit!" _"Naruto, I-I-I" Naruto cut her off "Its ok Hinata, I know I have been an idiot in the past but I came to my senses, all it took was for me to see how great you really are." _"__I must be dreaming, Naruto Uzumaki likes me? This cant be real"_ Hinata's heart was racing just as fast as her mind. "Listen Hinata, I didn't want you to find out this way, Im sorry I wanted to do something romantic and grand, you deserve stuff like that, ya know?" Hinata couldn't help but to blush and smile that cute little smile. "Hey, you cant do cute stuff like that while I'm trying to be serious! I really need to talk to you."


	4. Unfolding Infatuation

Authors note: This is the first chapter with Kurama and if you don't like the way I express him and his thoughts give me an idea on how to do it better, I'm just starting out so tips and critiques are welcome! This will be the last chapter for today, but ill be writing more tomorrow. Please leave a review or message me about your stories or ideas, Id love to read some of your works. I'll be getting into some action with the next chapter so stay tuned. Thanks a lot for reading and enjoy the chapter

"Hinata, while we were fighting alongside the 4th, he said something to me that opened my eyes." "What was that Naruto?" "He told me; That's a sweet girl you have Naruto, keep her and never let her go, she's a lot like me but much more beautiful!" "T-t-t-the 4th said that about me?" "Yeah, and that's when I realized just how beautiful you really are; blood running down your arms, palms all red from battle, Byakugan activated with your tattered vest, I have never seen anything more beautiful in my life. Until just now with your hair up in that nightgown, it was your mothers wasn't it?" "H-h-h-how did you know that Naruto?" "It smelled different than you usually do, it was more flowery, not that you don't smell fantastic, you do I like your smell better, ya know?" Hinata couldn't help but laugh, she liked when Naruto was the one getting flustered instead of her. _"__Dammit, I must sound like an idiot." _Naruto always thought he sounded stupid while talking to pretty girls. "You think I smell fantastic, huh Naruto?" "Well yeah, I mean Kurama gives me a super heightened sense of smell, like a bloodhound." "Awwe, good puppy." Hinata never got to tease Naruto before and it was out of character for her, but he had that effect on her sometimes. "HEY! I'm not a puppy, I'm a fox." they both laughed. **"****You are no fox Naruto, that would be me!" **_"__I know Kurama, it was just a joke." _**"****I know that, humans aren't the only species that has a sense of humor." **_"__Wow, I didn't know you understood humor, that's awesome, I'll have to tease you more!" _Kurama didn't answer he just smiled to himself. Naruto and Hinata sat and talked for what seemed only minutes but was actually a few hours.

"U-u-u-um Naruto?" "Yeah, what is it Hinata?" "Well, I um it's getting late." "Oh shit! You're right, I have to be at the Hokage's office at 7 or Grandma Tsunade will kill me!" "Well uhh, goodnight Naruto." "I'll see you tomorrow Hinata!" Naruto lunged toward Hinata and kissed her on the cheek and jumped out on to the balcony and across the compound's rooftops. "H-h-h-he kissed my cheek." Hinata laid back in her bed with the biggest smile she could muster. _"__I kissed her cheek, why did I do that? It felt amazing, my heart is racing like the heat of battle. Is this how dad felt about mom?" _Naruto ran along rooftops until he came to his roof, he sat down and looked at the stars. He felt like Shikamaru, but much more happy and much less apathetic. Naruto sat and watched for constellations and smiled, he knew he had to be up and at 'em in a few hours but he didn't care to go to be, he was too excited. _"__Hey 9?!" _**"****Yes human?" **_"__Have you ever been in love?" _**"****No, I haven't, but I have seen its power first hand." **_"__You mean with my dad and mom?" _**"****Yes Naruto, they wielded the strongest power in the universe, not even I could stop it." **This made Naruto hopeful about Hinata and himself. His eyes were feeling heavy all of the sudden, "Thanks Kurama" Naruto said as he fell asleep on his rooftop.


	5. New Mission!

**Authors Note: Some people don't like the paragraph style that I'm used to they find it hard to read so I decided that I would space out more often like in this chapter, so tell me if you like this way better or if you would rather have it in paragraphs like a book. This chapter may be a little long as I spent most of the day on my other story and wanted to make it up to you guys. Thanks a lot for reading and enjoy!**

Naruto was woken up by the rising sun. "Five more minutes Granny Tsunade, I'm tired." Naruto sleepily said to a bird that happened to land on his rooftop where he fell asleep last night. Realizing where he was and what time it must be he hurried up and jumped into his bedroom window and grabbed one of his bowl of ramen and put a pot of water on the stove to boil.

He threw off his clothes and rummaged through his wardrobe for something that didnt smell too bad, he found a black v-necked t-shirt with an orange fox head stitched into the back, it was Kiba's doing he stole and stitched up the shirt after Pain invaded and attacked Konoha he thought it would be funny.

Then he threw on some old ripped up jeans he found under his bed, they were mostly clean besides a broth stain on one of the legs where Naruto carelessly dumped ramen on himself because he tried to eat it while it was too hot. He went over to the stove took off the water turned off the cook top and poured the hot water over the noodles in the bowl, then he summoned a shadow clone to eat it while he tried to find his alarm clock to see the time.

Naruto finally found it in his bathroom sink, he looked and it said 6:55am. _"Damn I only have five minutes to make to Grandma Tsunade's office, I gotta book it."_ Naruto thought as he recalled his clone and jumped out his window towards the Hokage's office, without his shoes on.

Naruto ran as fast as a tired teenager with no shoes on possibly could, across rooftops, over flagpoles, and finally into the Hokage's building up what seemed to be a million flights of stairs and to Tsunade's door.

He flung it open and ran inside. "I made it, right on time!" Naruto screamed as he fought to catch his breath. "You are very lucky Naruto, I am having a very bad day, if you were even a second late I would have made you sweep all the dirt off the roads." Tsunade said as calmly as she could. "Uhhh, Granny, our streets are made of dirt." Naruto said questioningly "I know, that's the point you numbskull!" Tsunade was now yelling.

Naruto burst out laughing, Tsunade threw a chair at him, but she missed. "Okay Naruto, time to get serious, I've got an important mission for you." Tsunade said as she sat down in her comfy Hokage chair. "Yeah? What do you need almighty Hokage?" Naruto said very sarcastically.

"I need you to take Hinata to the Hidden Mist Village, Hiashi wants Hinata to learn under The 5th Mizukage, you two will be gone for 3 months, I already have a house prepared there for the both of you." Tsunade said as she finished up writing a scroll.

"One house for the both of us? Me and Hinata will be living together, for three months, does she know about this?" Naruto's voice was weak and timid "Of course she does, she is waiting for you at your house, go pack you leave immediately, and Naruto give this to the Mizukage it's very important, don't lose it!" Tsunade screamed as she dismissed Naruto to go pack.

Naruto ran as fast as he could, which was damn fast now that he was awake and alert. He headed right home in hopes that Hinata wouldn't have entered his house yet, it was very messy and he didn't want her to see how he lived like a pig, it was because he only got home and hadn't had time to clean up yet, or so he told himself.

He arrived at the front door just in time as Hinata was knocking. "Hey Hinata!" Naruto said catching his breath. "Hello Naruto, so y-y-y-you know about the mission." Hinata said even more timidly than usual. "Well yeah, just let me go pack and we will be off, just wait right here!" Naruto said as he opened and shut the door before Hinata could see inside. "Man that was close, I bet she would have been grossed out by how my house is right now." Naruto was now talking to himself, literally he made a clone to clean up as he packed and he was talking to him.

"Hey me, hurry up and clean so I can invite Hinata in, I don't want her to have to wait out there for too long." Naruto screamed from the bathroom "Got it boss, I'm going as fast as I can!" the clone was talking back now, this was a common occurrence for the great Naruto Uzumaki, hero of the Leaf and the World.

"Naruto! Let me in, I can help you pack so we can get moving faster it's a pretty long trip to the Hidden Mist." Hinata had to yell over the racket that the clone was making as he cleaned up. "In a minute Hinata I'm just tidying up a bit, it's a mess in here." called out the clone "Hey clone! Don't talk to Hinata, that's my job you hear!" Naruto yelled this time from his bed. "Oh, only you get to talk to me huh Naruto?" Hinata said as she bent down and smiled in Naruto's face. "Ahhh, Hinata, you cant be in here, it's still too messy! I don't want you to think I'm a slob!" Naruto said surprised by Hinata

"Oh Naruto, you were the same jumpsuit for 4 years in the academy and I don't think you ever washed it!" Hinata was laughing. "HEY THAT'S NOT TRUE! I washed it once!" Naruto said jokingly, even though he wasn't joking. "Good one Naruto, and by the way, nice fox." Hinata felt playful after her long talk with Naruto last night so she wanted to poke some fun at him.

"Yeah Yeah, It was Kiba, the bastard, he thought it would be funny to stitch a fox on some of my shirts, he broke in while I was out training one day." Naruto said slightly annoyed at Kiba still for that stunt. "Well I think it's rather fitting, and I like your jeans, I've never seen you wear casual clothes like that before." Hinata started to blush because there was a hole in the back where she could see his underwear. "Well, uh thanks Hinata, and it's because I like my sage robes, they are just a little dirty and I was in a hurry to see Grandma Tsunade this morning." Naruto felt very uncomfortable in his clothes all of the sudden. He continued to pack all his things, literally all of them.

"All finished!" Naruto said relieved. "U-u-um Naruto, that's everything you own, isn't a little bit much?" Hinata said confused "No not at all, I don't own that much because Pervy Sage would always waste all my money on booze and women." Naruto's face lit up as he said that. "I really miss him, ya know?" Naruto said slightly sadly "I know, you two were really close, but I'm sure you will see him again someday Naruto." Hinata didn't want the trip to be sad. Naruto laughed "Yeah, I know I will and when I do I'm gonna give him the beating of a lifetime! Let's go slowpoke try to keep up!" Naruto yelled as he grabbed his stuff and ran out the door. The two headed to the gate, looked up and were on their way to the Village Hidden in the Mist.


	6. Road to The Hidden Mist

**Authors Note: This chapter is going to start into the NaruHina fluff that we all know and love but there will also be some other good stuff along the way. If you want to skip the journey to the Hidden Mist, then you will be missing out on fluff and action but it will be the next two chapters before I get back into the main story. I have been writing a lot of main story for my other fic and I have another new idea I hope to start in the future so these chapters will be fluffy and non story driven, I'm sorry but I promise there is a lot more story coming so just bear with me. As always Enjoy!**

* * *

The trip to the Hidden Mist Village is about a week of travel on foot and then a two day ferry ride, Naruto thought of all the time he would be spending with the Hyuga heiress, even living with the lavender haired, white eyed beauty, it was almost too much for him to handle only 3 days into the trip. "Hey, Hinata uhhh, we've been out on the road for a few hours do you want to set up camp and have dinner?" Naruto asked Hinata who was day dreaming about living with the boy of her dreams. "HINATA!" Naruto yell to Hinata who snapped out of her daze. "Oh, I'm sorry Naruto I was just thinking." Hinata sounded as if she wasn't fully in the land of the living yet. "So, you wanna set up camp and make some food?" Naruto asked for the second time. "Yeah sure, I'll get camp set up, will you go catch some fish from that nearby stream?" Hinata asked the blonde. "No problem, I'll be back in a jiffy!" Naruto said as he dashed toward the stream.

Naruto took off his pants and threw them into a nearby bush along with his sandals and his sage jacket and scroll. Naruto stepped into the stream and pulled a kunai from his ninja tool bag and he spun it around his finger waiting to see a fish big enough to eat. A nice sized fish swam past his leg and as it moved a few feet past him he threw his kunai through the water and hit the fish right in the gills and pinned it to the bottom of the stream. "Alright one down!" Naruto said to no one. Just then a huge bass swam in between his legs he pulled out three shuriken this time and threw them directly into the the head of the fish then he went to collect his prizes.

Naruto headed back to the where Hinata was setting up the camp, when he arrived all he found was a stoked fire. He looked for Hinata around the campsite but she was no where. Naruto sat down the fish on a nearby log and decided to look a bit closer at the camp. He made a familiar hand sign and *poof* a few shadow clones appeared. "Hey guys gather some nature chakra, I'm gonna look around for Hinata, you know what to do when you have enough chakra." Naruto said to his clones as he jumped into a nearby tree. Naruto searched all the nearby trees and couldn't find Hinata.

* * *

A few moments later Naruto's shadow clones all pulled out kunai and stabbed themselves, "All right guys thanks for the help." Naruto was now ready to enter sage mode, he sat down on the tree branch he was standing on and focused all his newly acquired nature chakra, and the familiar yellow eyes and black square pupils appeared. He looked around in Sage mode for any signs of life, then he found it, a neatly nestled cave hidden behind rocks in a clearing.

Naruto jumped from branch to branch until he reached the clearing with the rocks. Naruto's knowledge of rock moving jutsu was very limited, so he decided to take a less subtle approach. Naruto held out one hand and manipulated his chakra into a Rasengan and blew the rocks to pieces. Naruto walked slowly into the mouth of the cave. "I HOPE YOU ARE READY!" Naruto yelled as a warning to the ninja inside.

Naruto ran through getting closer and closer to the life signatures he sensed earlier, finally he entered a large open area, pillars carved into the stone, and elaborate stone furniture decorated the entire area. There were large lamps on each of the pillars and in the center of the room a large raised platform with stairs on all sides. "I know you are here and your trap won't work. Give back Hinata so I don't have to hurt you all." Naruto addressed all the ninja hiding on the ceiling of the cave like bats. Naruto walked into the center of the raised platform and cracked his knuckles. "Bring it on then!" Naruto was serious now.

All at once 15 ninja vaulted at Naruto some throwing shuriken others wielding kunai ready to fight close range, Naruto drew a kunai from his ninja bag ready for the oncoming assault. First there were three Taijutsu experts Naruto quickly dispatched them with is unique style. He blocked a quick punch from behind by ducking, he swept the legs of the off balance ninja who just missed and while he was falling Naruto delivered a hard kick to the chest which sent the ninja flying into a pillar cracking it.

* * *

The other two ninja attacked at the same time, Naruto was blocking and dodging a fury of punches and kicks with ease, one ninja attempted a round house kick, to which Naruto caught his leg, and brought down his elbow right on his knee separating the bones at the joint, the ninja cried out in pain and Naruto threw him to the ground and delivered a swift and hard kick to the face knocking the guy out cold. The final taijutsu expert jumped back threw a few shuriken that Naruto deflected with his kunai easily then he charged Naruto and threw three punches that Naruto dodged. The ninja then delivered a knee to Naruto's gut, there was a huge puff of smoke, and the Naruto popped up behind the ninja and hit him just above is C1 vertebrae knocking him out instantly.

Seeing this the rest of the ninja ran for the exit, but Naruto was ready and pulled out a three pronged kunai, threw it and teleported to the only exit blocking their path. The ninja were all astounded by his blazing speed. "Tell me where Hinata is and I'll let you leave, otherwise we do this the hard way." Naruto gave the men an ultimatum. "The girl is in the back, in a holding cell." one ninja said as he quivered. "Thanks, now tell whoever sent you that if they send anyone else after me and Hinata, I will kill them all and hunt him down." Naruto said as he moved out of the ninjas way. Naruto rushed to the back of the cave to get Hinata. She was sitting in a cell with rock pillars as bars, she was knocked out with a little bruise on the side of her forehead, Naruto not wasting anytime punched through one of the pillars and grabbed Hinata, and carried her bridal style out of the cave.

* * *

Hinata woke up while they were on their way back to the camp, the first thing she saw when she awoke was the shining blue eyes of the boy she adored, Hinata thought she was dreaming, because she felt weightless. "Hey Hinata, you're up!" Naruto said with a big smile on his face. "N-n-n-n-naruto why are you carrying me?" Hinata asked the blonde beauty "Oh, I rescued you from those ninja but you were passed out, and you looked so peaceful I didn't want to wake you." Naruto said very casually for someone who walked right into and ambush not 15 minutes ago.

"Umm Naruto you can put me d-d-d-down now." Hinata reverted back to her academy days with her stutter. "Nah we are almost back to camp and you are as light as a feather." Naruto complimented the kunoichi unintentionally. Hinata instantly turned bright red. As the two approached camp Naruto let Hinata down. "T-t-thanks for saving me Naruto, they tried to knock me out with some sort of gas, but when it didn't work, there were too many of them and they overpowered me." Hinata said with a great deal of shame in her voice. "It's no big deal Hinata, I'll always be here to save you." Naruto realizing what he just said blushed and rubbed the back of his head as he often does when embarrassed.

"Who were those guys anyway?" Naruto asked "They had Hidden Rain headbands but they had to be from the Land of Hot Water." Hinata told Naruto. "Why would the they kidnap you?" Naruto asked completely clueless. "W-w-w-well their Daimyo's son and I were childhood friends, their Daimyo used to be a prominent leaf ninja. He then married the daughter of the previous Hot Water Daimyo and they moved to the Land of Hot Water, but before they moved I was betrothed to his son." Hinata explained

* * *

"Well he can't have you, that was a long time ago, things have changed." Naruto told Hinata. The duo rekindled the fire and Naruto caught two more fish for dinner. After they ate the two talked about their time in the academy. "_Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji and I used to jump out the window while Iruka sensei wasn't looking and skip class. We all had our reasons, I used to say that I couldn't stand looking at Sasuke's dumb face any longer. Kiba always said he couldn't get comfy in those chairs, Shikamaru used to just say that school was a bother and Choji, well he just went with Shikamaru. We would all go to the tower next to Shikamaru's house and just hang out on top of it. Iruka sensei knew exactly where we would go and he would come to get us and we would all scatter in different directions, he would always catch me first. He used to tell me that the others were at least proficient and that I couldn't afford to skip class, then he would smile at me_. It made me feel special that he chose me first, that's why I care so deeply for Iruka sensei." Naruto finished his tale.

"W-w-w-well, this one time I was sitting in class watching my favorite student, when he confronted the cool kid of the class, he jumped up on the desk in front of him, crouched down to get in the cool kid's face and when he did Kiba elbowed him and they ended up kissing! All I thought the whole time was how jealous of the cool kid I was, I wanted that to be me kissing the knucklehead."Hinata finished her story. A few minutes later Naruto yelled "Hey that was me and Sauske! Wait you wanted to kiss me?" Just then Naruto scooted closer to Hinata put his hand on hers and slowly leaned in to kiss her, Hinata did the same and the moment their lips touched Hinata turned completely red and fainted instantly. "Oh man I hope this doesn't happen every time! Oh well, I guess I'll take first watch." Naruto said, as he carried Hinata to her tent and laid her down.


	7. A Relaxing Dip

**Author's Note: Sorry These uploads took so long, I just wanted them to be really good so I was taking my time with them plus I had a long long long bout of writer's block which killed my enthusiasm for a little bit, but I am back! I hope you enjoy the fluff and the road to the rest of the story in the Hidden Mist Village which I will most likely refer to as Kirigakure from now on. I'd also like to warn that this is a little on the naughty side so be wary, and as always ENJOY!**

* * *

It is now day 6 of the week journey to the tiny little ferry town that will take Naruto and Hinata to Kirigakure, they were making great time even after Hinata was kidnapped by Hot Water ninja. In fact they were ahead of schedule. Hinata and Naruto had been walking for about 3 hours today. "Hey Hinata." Naruto said out of the blue "Yes, Naruto?" Hinata asked. "Well you see Jiraiya sensei once told me about this little shop close to the ferry town, we should be able to see it in a few minutes, and I was wondering if you would like to well check it out." Naruto said suspiciously.

"N-n-n-n-Naruto what is this shop known for?" Hinata asked, knowing something was up. "Well you see it's kinda like a hot spring, you know?" Naruto said rubbing the back of his head. "Oh, that sounds great actually, I'd love to go." Hinata said excitedly. "Well you see it's not just a hot spring though, it's it's a couples hot spring, Jiraiya sensei told me if I ever liked a girl to take her there, but he never told me why." Naruto was getting more and more embarrassed. "Well, you are a girl, and I like you Hinata, and it's really close so I figured I would ask, even though I don't know the difference between a couples spring and a normal one." Naruto covered his ass with his last words.

* * *

Hinata's face turned completely red and she fell to her knees. _"Naruto knows I'm a girl and he likes me! I cant believe this is happening." _Hinata thought as she tried to respond. "I-I-I would love to go with you Naruto. Even if I don't know the difference either." Hinata responded. "Yeah! Time to relax before we start training in Kirigakure." Naruto sounded very excited. The two were about to find out the difference. "Hey I can see it, come on Hinata lets go!" Naruto said as he grabbed Hinata's hand and began running for the little hut.

"Hello weary travelers!" said a little man, with a white mustache that resembled the 3rd Hokage's. "Howdy gramps! How the hell are ya?" Naruto asked in his normal fashion. "I'm doing fine son, my name is Mokuba, me and my wife; Ayumi run this hot spring." Said Mokuba. "Hello, Mokuba, I am Hinata Hyuga, and this is Naruto Uzumaki, we are going to Kirigakure and thought we might relax for a while." Hinata said in her formal fashion. "Well aren't you two just delightful, the hot headed and disrespectful lad and a perfect lady." Mokuba complimented Hinata. "Reminds me of myself and the old ball and chain!" Mokuba laughed loudly and motioned the two to come inside.

The little hut was much larger than it appeared, as Mokuba walked around the counter where his wife was waiting. "Hello, I'm sure my husband has already told you but I am Ayumi." Ayumi introduced herself. "How can I help the beautiful couple today?" Ayumi asked. "C-c-c-couple? W-w-w-we aren't a..." Hinata was cut off by Naruto "Oh Hinata, she is so shy and reserved about us." Naruto interjected. "We would just like to relax in the spring we have been traveling a long time." Naruto finished his thought. He looked at the completely red Hinata who looked as if she was about to die from embarrassment, and gave a gentle smile.

"Yes yes, right this way you two, you can get undressed in there, the towels are on the door." Mokuba explained and dashed away to his wife's side. Naruto slid off his Sage jacket, and hung it on the provided hook, and jumped out of his shirt and pants as fast as lightning, leaving them on the bench inside the changing room, lastly his Konoha forehead protector which he folded up and but in his Sage coat's pocket for safe keeping. He turned around and took the towel off the hook and looked at the mirror hung on the door, scars littered his toned body. He quickly sighed and wrapped the towel around himself. Hinata was out of her stall a minute after Naruto with her towel which was barely big enough to wrap her completely on account of her luscious bosom, who almost took a page out of Hinata's book and fainted as soon as he saw her. He controlled the urge to faint and only a trickle of blood fell from his nose, which he wiped away quickly before Hinata could see.

* * *

"Oh wow Hinata, I've... well I've never seen this much of you before, you know?" Said Naruto as he scratched the back of his head. "I-i-i haven't seen this much of you before either Naruto." Hinata said as she became flushed and felt lightheaded. Before she could faint Mokuba and Ayumi came up to them both. "Come on this way let's go." Mokuba said to Naruto as if he were herding cows. Ayumi did the same to Naruto, but surprisingly they took both of the ninja the same direction, to the same side of the hot spring. "W-w-w-we can't be on the s-s-s-same side, Naruto will see me..." Hinata's stutter was on full blast. "Yeah, old man, what are you thinking, I'm not a perv like Jiraiya sensei!" Naruto screamed at Mokuba. "Kid, you came to a COUPLES spring, there is only one side." Mokuba explained. "We can refund you if you don't want to go in, its no trouble." Ayumi told Hinata nicely. "N-n-n-no, no it's fine, Naruto go in first I'll turn around until you get under the water." Hinata said softly and nervously. "Ok, and we can sit back to back once we both get in, it'll be fine!" Naruto had the same idea as Hinata.

Naruto waited for Hinata to turn around and he took off his towel, and folded it and put it on his head. He walked into the spring slowly until he was in the middle and sat down facing away from the entrance. "Ok Hinata whenever you are ready!" Naruto yelled to let her know he wasnt going to look. Hinata took off her towel and wrapped her hair in it and she walked up to where Naruto was sitting, with his eyes closed so he wouldn't get the urge to peek and sat down and turned around scooting back until her skin was touching Naruto's. "Hey Hinata, isn't this great?" Naruto asked casually as if there wasnt a beautiful naked girl right behind him. "Y-y-yeah Naruto, very relaxing." Hinata answered, even though she was lying she couldn't relax with Naruto's naked body touching her own. _"I really do enjoy the feeling of his skin on mine. It's nice and firm but also soft and warm." Hinata thought to herself._

* * *

"You know I lied back there, I have seen that much of you before..." Naruto told Hinata. "W-w-when did you see me before?" Hinata was nervous to hear the answer. "Well when we were Gennin, well I mean I still am one but, I mean when we were just out of the Academy, I may have used a transformation jutsu to go into the girls shower once or maybe twice, and you were the only one in there, you had just taken off your towel and were walking to a shower and well I only saw the backside, but I saw the WHOLE back." Naruto laughed "I saw it and stared for a second and then my nose began to bleed and I lost focus so my transformation blew up and I had to run as fast as I could outta there!" Naruto finished his story. "N-n-n-Naruto, how could you?!" Hinata yelled but there was a twinge of hypocrisy in her voice and Naruto picked up on it. "You saw me too! You gotta tell me the story." Naruto had caught her.

"O-ok you caught me Naruto, it was also in the Academy days, you were out in the training field alone, and I followed you there. You were practicing with kunai and it was really hot so you took off your shirt and pinned it to the tree I was standing next to with a kunai. You were still sweating a whole lot so you took off your pants and threw them into a bush. You were in your underwear but I saw a-a-a lot, your sweaty, and muscled body made me f-f-faint and fall into a hole nearby." Hinata told Naruto guiltily.

Naruto laughed under his breath and got a devious look on his face. "HINATA HOW COULD YOU!?" Naruto yelled as he stood up and turned around to face Hinata. She felt Naruto's skin leave hers and so she turned around towards Naruto, who instantly remembered that he was naked and right in front of Hinata. Naruto's face turned as red as roses as he looked down at Hinata's still face and a little lower to her almost Tsunade sized chest, which had a certain effect on the one and only Naruto Uzumaki. Hinata was in shock from what she had just seen!


End file.
